Economic Development Deal of the Year Bronze Award: Georgia

The Georgia Department of Economic Development snared our Bronze Award for Honeywell’s new software development center in Atlanta. The development center, which will create 833 new jobs, also will serve as the headquarters for Honeywell’s $9.4-billion Home and Building Technologies (HBT) business. The project is expected to have an overall economic impact of more than $183 million in 2020, when the center reaches full employment.

Gov. Nathan Deal (center) and Honeywell officials announcing the company’s plans for a new software development center and headquarters for its Home and Building Technologies Business in Atlanta. (Photo: honeywell.com)

The new software development center in Atlanta will create leading-edge software based on the latest Cloud, Mobility and Analytics technology. “Atlanta offers us access to some of the brightest and most-innovative software talent in the U.S.,” said Krishna Mikkilineni, Honeywell senior vice president of engineering, operations and IT.

Honeywell’s new software development center is the first operation of its kind for the company. Honeywell views the operation as a development center that will develop software and technologies for the company’s three divisions.

The top project location decision criteria included the availability of a skilled high-tech workforce and the technology ecosystem to support ongoing innovation. Georgia competed with several states including California, North Carolina and Texas. The two finalists for the location were Raleigh, NC and Atlanta.

KEY FACTORS IN SITE SELECTION

Honeywell announced the selection of Atlanta as the site for the new software development center in September. The Georgia operation will serve as a development center for software and technologies ranging across the company’s strategic business groups: Honeywell Aerospace, Honeywell Home and Building.

The company cited several factors that influenced its selection of the site in Georgia for the project, including:

University system partnership. The involvement of Georgia’s public colleges and universities was key to answering Honeywell’s questions about workforce. Georgia’s system-wide approach to public higher education brought in several top institutions with strengths in software development, including Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University.

Workforce pipeline. Because of the company’s keen interest in available talent for the future, we arranged a blind panel discussion in which approximately 10 Honeywell executives could ask questions of five Georgia Tech students majoring in software-related fields.

Questions included where did they see their careers in five years, how did they choose their majors and did they plan to remain in Atlanta after graduation. The students spoke very highly about Atlanta, and said they wanted to remain if the jobs were available here. Afterwards, Honeywell said that they were very impressed by the potential future workforce (if they chose Atlanta for the location), and that the chance to talk directly with the students along with the answers they got was very influential in the decision.

The Hoosier Energy Power Network’s Economic Development team is dedicated to providing valuable site selection information and assistance to companies considering a relocation or expansion in Indiana or Illinois.

Valdosta-Lowndes County, Georgia is a vibrant and premier location for business development opportunities. Located midway between Atlanta and Orlando in the heart of South Georgia, Valdosta-Lowndes County is strategically positioned for businesses to access and serve the global economy.

The U.S. Green Building Council will use the Bank of America grant to support its LEED for Cities and Communities Program. - Read: $500,000 Grant Will Help 15 U.S. Communities’ Sustainability Efforts at FacilityExecutive.com.

New Fusion™ 285 wall system is designed for performance and safety, and is first system to meet new NFPA 2019 regulations. - Read: Fusion 285 Wall System Features JM Cladstone Water & Fire Block at FacilityExecutive.com.

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Business Facilities highlights area economic development and site selection news from around the world. Economic development creates opportunities to grow state, local and metro areas, which are essential for economic growth, improved quality of life and community development.

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